Dynasties in 2014 Senate races

A surprising number of this year’s marquee Senate races will put political dynasties to the test. Democratic Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor is leaning on a half-century of accumulated goodwill associated with his family’s name to hold his father’s old Senate seat. But he is not alone.

West Virginia

Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito’s father, Arch, was a three-term West Virginia governor. He served two years in federal prison for political corruption in the early 1990s. His daughter, 60, was elected to the state House in 1996 and then the U.S. House in 2000. She is the strong frontrunner this November to win the seat opening up with Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s retirement.